Dangers of Craft Lamps – I nearly had a fire!

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Here’s the mini bunting I made from the scraps I was given last week!!

It hangs below my Angel in the front room – seems appropriate given what happened last week because – Oh my goodness –  I nearly had a fire!

The morning sun fills my craft room and makes it a very nice place to work. Last Thursday however it nearly caused a tragedy! Bright sunlight was streaming into the room and onto my lovely magnifier lamp which I use for close work and threading my overlocker.   Unfortunately the magnifier top  was burning my calendar!

I had woken earlier than usual and strangely for me had jumped straight up.   My husband was just leaving for work and as he left mentioned he thought there was a strange burning smell.  I had been doing pyrography  the night before and just thought it was a lingering smell from that.   However, as he left  I went into the craft room and noticed how strong the burning smell now was!     I couldn’t believe it when I saw that my calendar had a hole in it with the edges brown and the first whisps of smoke starting!   What a shock!  My eyes travelled from the smouldering calendar to the large magnifier lamp and the sunlight puring onto it!!   I quickly moved the lamp away from the window and covered the hole in my calendar with a metal tin, fortunately the smouldering died out!

It’s not very often these days that I am up before DH goes out and often it is an hour later when I arise.  In that time the fire could have taken hold and I could have lost all my fabric at the very least,  at worst the whole house could have gone up while we slept!!   I can’t help but think my Guardian Angel woke me up that morning and helped me get straight out of bed! (Thanks Dadxxx)

So if you have one of these lamps make sure it is not near a window or that you cover the glass magnifer top at all times – you never know when the sun will come out.  Hope none of the lovely crafters at the Handmade Monday linky party have had anything so scary happen?  but if you too have any danger warnings please let us all know!!